Day 194 Fri 27 April 2007 Istanbul, Turkey

After watching the dolphins in the Sea of Marmara from the roof top terrace over breakfast, the remainder of the morning is spent repacking the car and moving from the Alp Hotel next door to the Alaturka hotel. Fortunately we are in a little cul de sac so are able to spread stuff all over the pavement and decide that with Europe in sight we can finally get rid of all the un-needed spare parts and unused potty carted over the past 25,000kms. We probably don’t need the Gerry can or extra tyre or spare battery either but decide not to throw them away just yet.

Then we walk up the hill to the Topkapi palace, a magnificent rambling complex of courtyards and gardens far exceeding anything being built in Europe at that time. After admiring the tulips we tour the harem, where the sultan had some 300-500 concubines and inspect the treasury with its fabulous jewellery exhibits. We adjourn for dinner at the Rumeli restaurant and celebrate our achievement with a half decent bottle of Turkish red wine.